The Perceptions of Beauty - 2321 Words

There is a young girl, right now, staring in a mirror in a New York shopping mall observing her expanding waist. There is a girl, right now, forcing herself to run an extra mile so she can eat her favourite cheesecake tonight. There is a girl, right now, lying helplessly on an operating table about to go under the knife. There is a girl, at this very moment, wishing she was the beautiful Heidi Klum prancing down the runway of a Hollywood fashion show. The saying ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ is a complex phrase with many underlying questions. Different people possess different kinds of beauty and different cultures disagree on what is considered beautiful and what is not. So the question remains; why do physical attributes play†¦show more content†¦The researcher suggests that long hair demands time and energy for growth and grooming so extended locks advertize both health and wealth (Somes 2008: 30). Even though the quality ‘beauty’ does e xist, there are differences of the ideal beauty from one culture to the next. â€Å"In the Western Africa Tribe young women choose their husbands on the basis of their beauty: The contestants take part in the yaake, a line-up which they sing and dance, rolling and crossing their eyes. They keep this up for hours, aided by stimulating drugs beforehand. Throughout all of this, old ladies hurl criticisms at those who do not live up to the Fulani idea of beauty† (Wolf 1990: 42). Not all cultures regard thinness as a means of beauty. For example, in Belize two ideal body types for women are accepted as beautiful. A woman can be shaped like â€Å"a bottle of coke with hour glass curves, or resemble a bottle of Fanta with less at the top and more at the bottom† (Blakeslee 2007: 26). For women in Belize it is shape, not size that they dress to accentuate (Blakeslee 2007: 24-27). Similarly, not all cultures view muscularity as the ideal beauty for men. Dr. Harrison Pope, a Harv ard Psychiatrist constructed a machine called a somatomorphic matrix, which measured ones body image perception. A male subject is asked to look at a computer screen where he will see a picture of a male. He is asked to adjust the size of the man according to muscularity and levelShow MoreRelatedPerception of Beauty1330 Words   |  5 Pagesgrimace, gesturing casually in the direction of books, stuffed animals, board games,or really anything but that doll. Now honey, why would you ever want to buy anything like that? Why indeed? Barbie dolls are on of the many unreal standards of beauty floating around our perilous modern society. Children consider them innocent playthings, or collectible figurines, but they are really a prime example of just how young, impressionable minds can be shaped by the this centurys demanding culture.Read MoreThe Global Perception of Beauty1768 Words   |  8 Pageshas a tremendous influence upon global beauty culture, social construction and the perso nal self-esteem of individual women, worldwide. Society’s dependence upon media constructs our perception of reality on a daily basis, transforming the beauty culture on an international level, while the cosmetic industry profits. On a global scale, only 2% of women believe they are beautiful, excluding almost three billion around the world from the feeling of self-beauty; a figure that steadily increases interchangeablyRead MoreSociety s Perception Of Beauty1148 Words   |  5 PagesBeauty is a perception we hold in society as what is attractive or not. Our perception of beauty is a social construct, meaning that it is made through society through its depictions of beauty. In our society today, our perception of beauty is shaped through the media, since the media portrays specific standards of beauty that people feel they must follow. Although media portrays beauty across different races and ages, society’s perception of beauty is skewed towards a specific and esta blished standardRead MoreSociety s Perception Of Beauty1193 Words   |  5 PagesBeauty is a socially constructed perception regarding what is seen as attractive or not. Our perception of beauty, as stated previously, is a social construct, meaning that it is made through society and the people who are part of it. In our society today, our perception of beauty is shaped primarily through the media, since the media portrays specific standards of beauty that people feel they must follow. Although the media is perceived to portray beauty across different races and ages, society’sRead MoreThe Influence of Media on Perception of Beauty2091 Words   |  9 PagesThe influence of the media on our perception of female beauty Defining beauty is not without its challenges: look up the definition of beauty in any english dictionary and one will be met with an ambiguous description similar to this: A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense (Newman 2010) acknowledges the dilemma in asking what beauty is. She maintains we grope around the edges of the question as if trying to get a toe-hold on a cloud. We know it whenRead MoreMedia s Influence On The Perception Of Beauty1389 Words   |  6 Pagesdefine beauty? The answer is seemingly yes, though agreement on said definition(s) is an entirely different matter. Some concepts have the luxury of general consensus. Of course, where there is consensus on definition, there will be debate on operationalization. Nothing remains unchallenged. Beauty, however, is in a class of the transient, the ineffable, and the ephemeral. The word is just a word, but the identity ascribed to it is of the mysterious. So how does one begin to define beauty if suchRead MoreThe Fashion : Unrealistic And Harmful Perceptions Of Beauty1500 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fashion Industrys’ Unrealistic and Harmful Perceptions of Beauty As you are flipping through the pages of any fashion magazine, you see that they are plastered with freakishly skinny, young women made up to resemble perfect barbie dolls. If you are the average american girl, you would probably be feeling a little more insecure about yourself than when you first opened the magazine. You begin to realize everything that you wish you could look like and are stuck comparing yourself to images thatRead MoreBeauty Is a Reflection of Culture and Perception Essay809 Words   |  4 PagesHow beauty is perceived and what beauty is defined as is a very controversial topic. Beauty is a reflection of one’s culture and perceptions. However, one’s idea of beauty may become contorted. This results in a misperception of what beauty really is. Society makes it out to be a perfect model or celebrity that no one can compare to. In order to understand why beauty is not a universal idea, one must know what beauty is, what each culture perceives as beau ty, and the misperception society gives peopleRead MoreMedia s Perception Of Beauty For Women933 Words   |  4 Pages When I watched Slim Hopes I was quickly reminded of the impact media has on the definition of beauty for women. The introduction of the video caught my attention and set the tone for the rest of the video. The introduction was versatile in its showcase of the medias impact on ones perspective. Jean Kilbourne is knowledgeable about the media’s perception of beautiful women, and how through history they have carried out that agenda. The main point of this video Slim Hopes is to educate viewers onRead More Different Perceptions of Beauty in Nature Essay1558 Words   |  7 PagesDifferent Perceptions of Beauty in Nature Ralph Waldo Emerson derived his philosophy of transcendentalism from ideas of Plato. According to Emerson, one has to have a very sensual relationship with beauty and nature in order to reach this transcendence. However, Emerson’s outlook on beauty as written in Nature is very different from what Plato wrote in The Republic. Interestingly, these differences will result in different methods for attaining the same state of transcendence. I believe, however